Gingival Recession of 3 mm or More Found in 37% of U.S. Adults in NHANES Analysis

Posted: November 3, 2026

Gingival Recession of 3 mm or More Found in 37% of U.S. Adults in NHANES Analysis

Edited by Hygienetown staff

More than one-third of U.S. adults age 30 and older had mid-buccal gingival recession of at least 3 mm, and current smoking was associated with more severe recession among those with periodontitis, according to an analysis of national survey data published online Oct. 27 in the Journal of Periodontology.

Researchers analyzed data from 5,891 dentate adults in the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, representing 129.6 million U.S. adults. They stratified their models by periodontitis status using the American Academy of Periodontology case definition.

Weighted prevalence of recession was 91.1% at 1 mm or more, 37.2% at 3 mm or more, and 6.0% at 5 mm or more.

Age was associated with recession severity in every model, with the largest effect among participants with periodontitis: those 65 and older had five times the odds of more severe recession (odds ratio, 5.0; 95% CI, 3.4–7.4). Men had higher recession severity across all models.

Among participants with periodontitis, current smoking (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.5–2.9) and lower educational level were associated with more severe recession. In a model based on the Cairo classification, periodontitis (OR, 3.3) and current smoking (OR, 1.6) predicted more severe recession types.

Felix Marschner, Clemens Lechte, Jana Biermann, and Franziska Haupt of University Medical Center Göttingen in Germany and Alwin Sokolowski of the Medical University of Graz in Austria conducted the study.

The authors concluded that recession severity follows distinct risk patterns depending on periodontitis status and that targeted prevention and risk-based management may help reduce the burden of severe recession. The analysis is cross-sectional and relies on survey data collected more than a decade ago.

Sources:
Journal of Periodontology, “Associated factors for mid-buccal gingival recessions: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,” published online Oct. 27, 2026:
aap.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jper.70211
National Library of Medicine, PubMed, PMID 42937034:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42937034


Gingival Recession of 3 mm or More Found in 37% of U.S. Adults in NHANES Analysis

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